Day 8: homemade crust how I loathe thee

How do you know when your daughter hates bows?  she takes her hand and physically pulls them out.  Sorry Hannah but you WILL like your bows :-P  I've had someone ask me how old is HE... only once.  When she had a BOW on.  but she was wearing blue so I guess that made her a he?  whatever.  That's the reason I put bows in her hair.  plus they're adorable!  Just now when I was getting her ready to have lunch with daddy I put her in a particular outfit that was a little "smocked" at the top.  This is hopefully a universal term that most of you ladies are familiar with since it's a tad old fashioned... so old women young women and middle aged women should know the "smock dress."  Well... a lot of women love the smock look but I personally am not a fan.  At all.  And because of that I have made a point to keep that type of dress out of my daughters wardrobe.  Not saying the style is not cute to a degree... well I guess that's exactly what I'm saying.  It's just my personal preference.  So in my copious effort to exclude the smock look from her wardrobe it still snuck in there somehow.  Here's a pic:

I guess some would say, "Carolina that isn't a smocked dress."  But I say it's as close as she's getting to wearing one.  I don't like the cinching.  what can I say?  Don't judge me.

Yesterday, due to overwhelming demand from my husband I made from scratch chicken pot pie.  Now, don't misinterpret this.  I definately tried to make the "lazy version."  You know the one... pillsbury premade crust and veg-all.  Ya know the EASY one that take maybe half an hour to make which includes baking.  Well, Jon was not impressed although in a bit of irony Alex liked the lazy version better than the from scratch version which he did not touch last night.  *sigh*  the pickiness (sp? I don't even think that's a word lol) of a toddler never escapes this household for too long.

In my effort to make the process easier for myself, the first lazy recipe involved a premade pie crust, veg-all, cream of potato soup, and a bit of parsley.  It was really hard for me to get the premade crust completely done so needless to say it was.... to jon and I not worth it.  Here is the recipe of the from scratch pie.  I cheated a little and used frozen veggies instead of cutting ALL THOSE VEGETABLES BY HAND.  I don't mind cutting a little... hey I'm a fruit cutter, a potato cutter and a butter cutter most of the week.... but not 7 different  vegetables.  NOPE.  not happenin..  but jon doesn't seem to mind the frozen veggies with the exception of the peas involved.    So after all that here is the recipe... keep in mind that I used frozen veggies... you don't have to if you decide to use this recipe... I just did because I'm horrible at dicing veggies.   It usually doesn't turn out in my favor.

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2tbsp fresh minced parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 stick , chilled butter, cut into tablespoons
• 3-4 tbsp ice water

Filling:

• 2 cups chicken broth, homemade or store bought
• 1 small white onion, finely diced
• 2 cups peeled diced potato, yam or sweet potato
• 3/4 – 1 tsp fresh crumbled sage
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 cups broccoli florets, in bite size pieces
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup flour
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 3 cups cooked chicken, in bite-size pieces
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Make the pastry:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper.
2. With a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Sprinkle on 3 tablespoons of ice water and work into the dough, adding up to 1 tablespoon more of water to form a dough that can be gathered into a ball.
4. Divide the dough in half, press each portion into a disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Make the filling:

1. In a large saucepan, bring the chicken broth to boil over medium high heat.
2. Add the onions, potatoes/yam, sage, and pepper, and cook until the potatoes/yam are tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the carrots, broccoli, and celery, and cook until the carrots and broccoli are just tender, about 5 minutes longer.
4. In a small bowl, make the rue…with your fingertips, thoroughly blend the flour with the butter.
5. Increase the heat under the saucepan to high, pinch off pieces of the flour/butter mixture (rue), and drop them one at a time into the pan, stirring to incorporate after each addition.
6. Cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, 2-3 minutes.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chicken.
8. Preheat the oven to 425°
9. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll one of the discs into a 12 inch circle and fit it into a 9 inch pie pan, letting the extra dough hang over the edges.
10. Spoon the filling into the pastry shell.
11. Roll the other dough disc into a 9 inch circle and place it on top of the filling.
12. Trim the overhang from the bottom dough to about a 1/2 inch all the way around.
13. Fold the overhang in over the top crust, crimping to seal.
14. Cut steam vents in the top crust and brush with the beaten egg.
15. Bake the pie for 15 minute
16. 1. 1. Lower the temperature to 325° and bake for 10-15 minutes longer, or until the crust is golden

So first, this crust is a pain in the BUTT to make.  And when I say pain I mean it.  from the depths of my soul.  Lol  It's not that I don't appreciate the crust, however it's still a pain.  lol.  Here's a picture of the initial mixing mid "cutting in the butter." lol

eugh.  You have to have a LOT of upper arm strength to cut the butter in.. don't use a mixer apparently that's a mistake.  

Here's a picture of the crust in the pie dish.... it actually turns out to be a pretty good looking crust and the finished product... SOOO good.  

This is actually AFTER I put the filling in but here's a pic of the top crust.  I did a lot better this time than last time especially considering that I have no rolling pin.  Yes I said it.  No rolling pin.  

Ok... this cooked for a total of 30 minutes and it was just DEVINE.  Here is a pic after it came out of the oven... excuse the piece taken out, I have a toddler who requires lukewarm food consistently. :-P

It's delicious!!!!  Out of all the recipes I've posted I definately suggest this one to at least try!!  Have a great day followers!!  I have to get my toddler up to go see his daddy for lunch.  :) :)